Women's lifestyles before the Civil War made a huge impact as a point of causation. Give middle schoolers the opportunity to view firsthand the lives of women before the Civil War. They analyze primary source documents, view photographs,...

What part did Kentucky play in the Civil War? A constructed response essay assignment tests to ensure scholars understand the concepts and the arguments for the causes of the Civil War. Learners must read a primary source quote and then...

North and South: two opposite directions and two opposite economic and social systems in time of the Civil War. Pupils peruse census websites and primary source photographs to understand what life was like for the everyday person before...

American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...

The bravery of African American troops on the frontlines directly impacted the lives of the newly freed enslaved people. Using documents, including letters from African American troops and an excerpt of the Emancipation Proclamation,...

In today's political rhetoric, many forget the pivotal role the Republican Party played in the causes of the Civil War. The party's formation was the final straw for Southerners who saw the enslavement of people of African descent a...

The Civil War, a war that divided a nation. Comparing and contrasting the Confederate and Union soldiers is not always an easy task, but the eighth of 15 resources makes it easy to teach the concepts. Exercises include watching videos in...

Young historians learn what life was like in the South during the Reconstruction era. They complete hands-on-activities and participate in group discussion to understand how experiences varied between African Americans and white...

High schoolers examine the Reconstruction programs instituted following the American Civil War, the potential for change these efforts offered, and the realities that occurred. Guided by a PowerPoint presentation, class members read a...

How have Russian politics affected countries on a global stage? The discussion of the Russian Revolution and World War I begins with an analysis of primary resource letters. Learners finish with a project where they create a timeline of...

Dred Scott was a harbinger of the Civil War. An enslaved man claimed freedom because his owner had taken him into free territory. Not only did the Supreme Court rule that Dred Scott and his wife were to remain enslaved, but it also ruled...

Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...

Patriots versus Loyalists, a huge divide during the Revolutionary War in what would become the United States of America. An informative resource includes both direct instruction about the two groups and a quiz pupils take after reading...

When is it a moral obligation to disobey the law or to fight back? Using primary sources that document the "Christiana Riot" of 1851, learners consider these questions. The firsthand accounts tell the story of the riot, which happened...

Eleventh graders examine the major events and inventions that changed American families and communities.  In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze various documents dealing with the changes.  Students create a project on...

Were unfair taxes really the cause of the American Revolution? Learners explore the complicated historiography behind the revolutionary period using authentic College Board prompts. The free-response questions from the exam feature...

The stories of enslaved people are preserved forever thanks to the Great Depression. Budding historians explore slave narratives gathered by a federal government initiative to discover what life was actually like for enslaved people....

The resource, a standalone, shows how news coverage of John Brown's Raid began when the event happened and how that reporting shaped perception in West Virginia history. The resource includes interesting anticipatory discussion...

Pupils become familiar with the concepts of human rights and constitutional rights. They have an increased awareness of the historical record as to the cessation of these rights, especially in regards to children during WWII. It is...